Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

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Reviews

'The singing is neat, clear and fluid, with beautifully elastic phrasing from the two tenors. The Nunc dimittis provides the sweetest moments in the Great Service itself' (BBC Music Magazine)

'The 10 voices of the Cardinall's Musick launch into the opening of Byrd's The Great Service—'O come, let us sing unto the Lord'—with a soaring joyfulness and clarity that sustains throughout this large-scale and elaborate work. Andrew Carwood and his group have won countless accolades for their series of Byrd's Latin sacred music. In this Anglican work, they achieve the same outstanding level of musicianship. The (female) sopranos have strength and purity at the top but an effective lightness, too, closer to the sound of boy trebles. The full ensemble tone is bold and energetic' (The Observer)

'This new recording is something special. Whether it's because of the sheer experience of having sung so much of Byrd's music as to have assimilated his musical language utterly, or whether it's simply the raw musicianship and cultivated intelligence of the performers, there's a clarity and intensity in each verse that is spine-tingling … here, as elsewhere, the latent energy of the words as made manifest in Byrd's setting is realized with the kind of skill and conviction that moves rather than simply amazes. Which is, I guess, the point of religious music' (International Record Review)

Introduction

The Great Service (Venite, Te Deum, Benedictus, Kyrie, Creed, Magnificat and Nunc dimittis) was virtually unknown until its rediscovery by Edmund Fellowes in the manuscripts of Durham Cathedral in 1922. The earliest source for what Fellowes described as the ‘finest unaccompanied setting of the service in the entire repertory of English church music’ is in the hand of John Baldwin and dates from around 1606 which makes assigning a date of composition very difficult. It used to be thought that most of Byrd’s music for the English church was written during his time as organist of Lincoln Cathedral but this is too simplistic an assumption. The Great Service certainly sits firmly within the Elizabethan tradition of composition as established by Sheppard (especially in his Second Service to which Byrd makes reference), Parsons and Mundy. Yet the imitative style, the technical complexity and the way in which Byrd uses the various vocal scorings available to him (especially the divided treble voices) suggests that this piece belongs not to the Lincoln years but to some time later, perhaps the 1580s. For many choirs the sheer scope of this music and the lavish scoring for ten parts (SSAAAA TTBB) must have made it impossible to perform: few could have boasted sufficient numbers of singers for such an undertaking. There is perhaps only one Elizabethan institution which could have dealt with such a piece and that was the Chapel Royal; it may be that Byrd wrote it specifically for them.

Of the many sophisticated features of the Great Service, juxtaposition is one of the most important – verse singers set against full choir, higher voices against lower voices, homophony against imitation – all of which allows Byrd to have a tight control of the drama of the text. At the same time he revels in the full sonority of the ten-part scoring and fuses elements from all three service styles. The two sides of the choir (Decani and Cantoris) are pitted against each other in the manner of the ‘short’ services but not simply to provide variety but more often for dramatic effect. In the Te Deum Decani represents the ‘glorious company of the Apostles’ and Cantoris the ‘noble army of Martyrs’ and then both unite at the mention of the ‘holy Church throughout all the world’. Such full choir statements are always offset by more intimate sections for verses where Byrd will exploit the full range and colour of the voices, using three altos and a tenor in the Benedictus at the words ‘And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest’ and scattering the proud in the Magnificat not only ‘in the imagination of their hearts’ but audibly in the music.

Other albums featuring this work

'A very polished and confident performance. Quinney gives equally fluent renditions of the Voluntary and 'Fancie for My Lady Nevell', completing a dis ...'The Choir of Westminster Abbey revels in the score's complexity, animating the dialogues within its ten-part texture with clarity and conviction ...» More

Byrd's music for the Anglican Church has been performed regularly in services for some 400 years. Perennial favourites recorded here include the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis from the Great Service and the anthems O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth ...» More

"England has never produced a greater composer than William Byrd. His music for the Anglican Church has been sung without interruption since the 16th century. In stark contrast his Catholic music was not heard for over 300 years. This specially pr ...» More

Sacred Music from the Renaissance Era for Celestial and Secular Radio. When Peter Phillips founded The Tallis Scholars in 1973 sacred vocal music from the Renaissance Era was seldom heard on radio. Now it is firmly established as one of the great ...» More